


Just Another Day in Paradise

by Kariszma83



Category: Labyrinth (1986), Sucker Punch (2011)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Misses Clause Challenge, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-14
Packaged: 2019-09-17 22:38:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16983108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kariszma83/pseuds/Kariszma83
Summary: Before the events of the movie, the girls are thrown into a fantastical world full of mazes and goblins as they head on a quest to try to save one of their own.





	Just Another Day in Paradise

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Morbane](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morbane/gifts).



> For Morbane. I hope you love and enjoy this peek into the world of Sucker Punch pre-canon. Don't let Blue get you down, the girls will always have each other's backs. :)  
> Thank you for all YOU do. Hope you have an amazing Yuletide. 
> 
> Thanks as always to my hereto-lifemate iamtheenemy for the beta. You are the peanut butter to my jelly.

Sweet Pea rolled over in her bed. If she kept her eyes closed she could just imagine she was in her childhood bed surrounded by the comforts of home except for the feeling of the rough blanket. She cracked open one eye and saw the streak of harsh bright light through the window set high on the cold stone wall. She opened her eyes more fully and rolled back the other way in bed. Across the room, she saw her sister’s strawberry tresses spread out on her white pillow. Rocket breathed deeply in her sleep — so at peace with the world. So different from her waking moments.

Just then Sweet Pea heard the clang of a door down the hall being unlocked. She heard Blue yelling at the inhabitants of the room. He continued down the hallway opening doors and making comments at the girls inside the rooms. Sweet Pea sat up in bed and shivered. She didn’t know if it was due to the cold air, or because she was thinking of Blue. She took another look at Rocket’s sleeping form as she heard their door being unlocked.

Blue shoved the door open and called mockingly, “Good morning, sisters.”

He saw that Rocket was still asleep and stepped inside the room with a gleam in his eye. Sweet Pea stumbled in her haste to jump out of bed and block Blue’s path, but her feet got tangled in her blanket and she fell on the cold floor, catching herself on her palms.

Blue stepped up to Rocket’s bed and chuckled, “Hello, Sleeping Beauty.” He thrust his grimy hand under her blanket and ran it up her leg, pressing against her cotton covered sex. Rocket’s eyes shot open and she let out a startled gasp of surprise instinctively pushing his hands away.

Sweet Pea disentangled herself from the blanket and grabbed Blue’s legs, “Don’t you touch her!”

Blue kicked his leg out sharply, shaking her grip loose, “Don’t get all worked up, mama bear. I’m just saying hello.” He gave Rocket another rough squeeze and let go, chuckling. Blue turned around and reached down to Sweet Pea, pulling her up by the hair.

“You don’t have to get on your knees for me, baby,” he hissed in her face. Sweet Pea turned away from his foul breath as he groped at her breast with his other hand. “I have love and attention for _all_ my girls.”

The loudspeaker in the hallway crackled loudly, chiming the breakfast bell. Blue let go of Sweet Pea abruptly and she caught herself on the floor once more.

“That’s breakfast, ladies,” he yelled over his shoulder as he left the room. “Get your asses in gear.”

The sisters looked at each other, saying nothing for a long moment. Sweet Pea climbed to her feet slowly, “Let’s go Rocket, or the coffee will be gone before we get there.”

***

Rocket tasted blood. Damnit, she was chewing her lip again. She always did that when she was nervous. She knew that every encounter with Blue made her feel that way, but she thought after a year she was getting used to this place and the staff. She was strong and tough. She could survive.

‘Who am I kidding?’ she thought. ‘I am only alive because of my sister. I am a worm compared to her.’

Rocket turned away from the book she was supposed to be reading and looked for Sweet Pea. She was across the theater helping Dr. Gorski with setting up the stage for Amber’s trauma setting. Rocket had been through her trauma therapy with Dr. Gorski, but she didn’t feel like it actually helped much. She had killed a man. There wasn’t anything she could do to change that. He had deserved it, yes, but it was still her fault - and she had allowed her sister to go down for it too. Sweet Pea had stuck by Rocket’s side, the way she had Rocket’s entire life. Someday Rocket would get the chance to be the one her sister needed.

***

Amber took a deep breath and turned around to face the front of the stage. There stood Madame Gorski next to the record player, waiting for Amber to give her the sign to start the music. A feeling made Amber look towards the back of the room and she saw Blue standing near the door watching her. She gulped. Amber nodded to Madame Gorski and the music started. It began slow, and Amber moved her hips stiffly. The music heightened in tempo and Amber tried to feel it in her soul and use that, but she was missing all the beats. She could feel Blue’s eyes on her, weighing her down. After another minute or so, Blue walked briskly forward.

He reached the record player and grabbed the needle off the record. “If you can’t dance, you have no purpose. And we do not keep things that have no purpose. You fucking dance, or else. Do. You. Understand?” he asked, spitting the last sentence with so much vehemence that Amber stumbled back on the stage.

Amber gave a jerky, frantic nod, and Blue stalked away, shoving past Sweet Pea and leaving the theater.

“Amber,” Madame Gorski said softly in her thickly accented English, “again please.”

***

Blondie stood up as soon as Blue exited the theater. She made her way quickly to the stage, eyes fixed on Amber. She could see tears pooling in Amber’s eyes as she tried to start her dance again. Amber moved jerkily with no feeling or intent. Blondie stepped closer to the stage until she caught Amber’s eye. Once she did, she smiled wickedly and licked her lips. Amber’s face instantly lifted and she smiled through her tears.

Blondie mouthed wordlessly to Amber, “Dance only for me, Lollipop.” Amber nodded and did just that.

***

No matter what Amber did to overcome her fear, she could not dance with Blue in the room. She put herself into the music, tried to feel it deep in her soul. She thought of wonderful feelings like sun on her skin or Blondie’s lips trailing all over her body, but if Blue was watching, his presence always ate away at her like a bacteria..

Today was no different. There he stood watching her, the anger clear on his face. He turned to Madame Gorski, spitting his words into her face, and grabbing her arm so tightly she flinched. Amber froze in place. She couldn’t hear what Blue said to Madame over the music, but his intent was clear. He blamed her for Amber’s failure. Madame Gorski tried to pull away from him, backing up at the same time. She was obviously defending herself as she shook her head at him.

Blue backed Madame Gorski into the record player and the music came to a screeching halt. In the sudden silence, the sound of Blue slapping Madame Gorski across the face was deafening.

He gripped her chin in his hand and turned her head, forcing her gaze on the stage. He turned as well and fixed Amber with a sneering smile. “How do we make her dance then, Madame?”

Madame Gorski looked away from Amber’s gaze, “She will dance only for Blondie.”

Blue’s smile widened. “Oh, Blondie,” he called, his voice full of saccharine. Blue stalked over to Blondie and grabbed her by the hair. Blondie screamed and stumbled as Blue dragged her towards the door.

Amber screamed, “What are you doing? Where are you taking her?”

Blue laughed, “Somewhere with only me for company. She’ll forget all about you. Dance and you can have her back.”

***

Blue stood up from the bed and pulled his pants up, zipping them. He turned to Blondie and leaned over her to deliver a kiss. Blondie turned away and Blue caught her cheek instead of her lips. He chuckled and licked her cheek for good measure.

“Such a good little cunt you have, Blondie,” Blue called over his shoulder at her. “And if Amber wants that cunt back, she better learn to dance. I’ve given her enough time.” He closed the cellar door and locked it, peering through the small window at her. “Don’t miss me too much. I’ll be back for another round in the morning.”

The sound of Blue’s feet stomping up the cellar stairs faded softly as he climbed. The lights went out and Blondie heard another door slam high above her. She rolled onto her side in the pitch-black room and wiped a tear from her eye. It killed her that she couldn’t be there to protect Amber. She silently sent a prayer that Amber could get it together — for both of their sakes.

***

Amber sat on the floor of the stage trying to channel her inner Blondie. Trying to find the courage to do what she had to do. She had to save Blondie, and so she had to dance. Madame Gorski entered the room, the heels of her stiletto boots clicking sharply as she crossed the floor.

She stopped at the edge of the stage and began speaking, not looking Amber in the eye. “Amber, there is no more time. You must dance, you must have purpose here or you will be disposed of.”

Amber glared at Madame Gorski. “How could you do that to Blondie?” she demanded.

“You know that it was not my choice,” Madame Gorski said softly. “It’s not personal…..you know how Blue…..” She stopped speaking and seemed to be collecting herself.

She squared her shoulders and said, “We must all do things we don’t like to survive. I will do what I can to help Blondie. But you _must_ dance.”

***

Rocket watched Amber stop and start over and over and over. She could see her whole focus was on Blondie locked in the cellar. It broke Rocket’s heart to see her friend this way.

She leaned across the table to Sweet Pea, who was contemplating her next chess move. “We have to help Blondie,” she whispered. “We have to get her out of the cellar.”

Sweet Pea didn’t even lift her head as she responded, “No, Rocket. We have to keep our noses clean. We don’t need that kind of trouble from Blue.”

“But, Amber-” started Rocket.

“Rocket. No,” said Sweet Pea, still not looking up.

Rocket looked back at Amber. She was wiping tears of frustration from her eyes as Madame Gorski stamped her cane and called, “Again! Again! Again!”

Rocket turned back to her sister and stared at her until Sweet Pea raised her head and met her gaze. “I will do this with or without you.”

Sweet Pea sighed.

***

“I’m in, of course,” said Amber over dinner that night. “It’s my fault that she’s down there at all.”

“Stop that,” chided Rocket. “It’s not your fault, it’s Blue’s and you know it.”

“Ok,” said Sweet Pea, “enough. How are we going to get her out?”

***

Sweet Pea turned a slow 360 to gauge her new surroundings. She, Rocket and Blondie stood in front of a large stone wall that spanned as far and the eye could see. In front of them lay one single opening, through which could see another wall beyond. Sweet Pea lifted her eyes above the walls but saw only the outlines of more walls beyond raising up to surround a large castle in the center.

“What is this place?” whispered Rocket quietly.

“It’s a labyrinth,” responded Sweet Pea, “a maze. And who knows what we will find inside.”

Sweet Pea heard the sound of Rocket drawing her knives from their sheaths and looked over her shoulder at her sister.

Rocket stood at the ready. “Only one way to find out,” said Rocket, smiling.

Amber took a cherry lollipop out of her mouth. It made a wet, popping noise as it slid between her ruby lips. “Let’s go get my girl.”

***

Someone or something had been following them for quite a while. Sweet Pea didn’t know what it was, but she could hear its stealthy footsteps behind them as they continued further through the maze. She didn’t want to alarm her sister and Amber, and she didn’t want to draw any more attention to themselves than necessary, so she just continued on quietly.

As they turned the next corner, Sweet Pea froze in her tracks. She stopped so quickly that Rocket and Amber walked right into her.

“What?” hissed Rocket.

Sweet Pea raised up her hand to hold position. Something wasn’t...right. Sweet Pea turned and looked behind them.

“Weapons ready,” she whispered. “We’re surrounded.”

The creatures came slowly, almost seething out of the stonework around them. They moved forward as one being pressing inwards towards the girls. Sweet Pea, Rocket and Amber stood in a circle, backs together awaiting the first strike. The creatures surged like a swarm of insects.

Sweet Pea slashed her broadsword downwards, cleaving the creature in front of her in two.Through the gap left by his falling body another creature surged forward, locking swords with Sweet Pea. She braced herself and shoved with all her might, propelling the small beast away and back into the swarm. She turned to see Rocket and Amber fighting their own battles.

Rocket was engaged in hand to hand combat with her knives, fending off a creature who had his own daggers. She took him down fairly effortlessly, and turned to the next creature in the line.

Amber stood serenely, one hand twirling her lollipop on her lips and the other swiveling her pistol through the crowd and dispatching creature after creature, shot by shot.  

***

Rocket tried to wipe at the blood that was coating her torso. It didn’t do much good.

“Ewww,” she said.

They had escaped slightly worse for wear but one step closer to Blondie. Rocket looked at Amber to her right. She sucked on her lollipop with a cocky gleam in her eye that said she felt way more at home here than in the brothel. Rocket turned her gaze to her sister leading the way. Her fierceness was catching. Rocket felt like she could achieve anything when she followed Sweet Pea.

As they continued further into the heart of the labyrinth, Rocket had no sense of how long they had been here. At one point she would have said it had been only a few hours. Slightly later, she felt she had always been there - that this was her existence. Had she ever been anywhere else? Was anything real? The further they went, the worse the feeling became.

Rocket shook her head to clear it. “Sweet Pea, how long have we been here?” she asked.

The reply came not from Sweet Pea but from behind them. “Time only exists for my manipulation.”

Rocket turned around to see that the path they had just passed through was now a solid wall. In front of that wall, stood a stone throne, upon which sat a man wearing all together too much makeup.

All three girls adopted a fighting stance.

The man threw his left leg over the arm of the throne and leaned on his right arm, “Your weapons are useless to me.” He flicked his hand casually. “Now, why are you interfering in my world?”

The girls looked at each other, confused. “We are here to rescue our friend. Give her to us and we’ll leave right now,” said Sweet Pea.

“Interesting,” replied the man, “I don’t recall imprisoning anyone lately. Why do you assume this friend is here?”

The girls exchanged further looks. “That’s just what happens,” started Sweet Pea.

Amber continued, “Whenever we need to find something, we always end up somewhere different.”

“Ooh!” Rocket jumped in. “Remember that world with the giant teacups? Or the one with the pandas? Or the one where Amber had to-”

“Nevertheless,” interrupted Sweet Pea, glaring at Rocket, “something brought us here, so Blondie must be here as well.”

“Well,” said the man as he rose from the throne, “magic is a thing I never question. How intriguing. I look forward to seeing how this progresses. I will give you leave to search my labyrinth for your...Blondie, is it? But, if you cause any more harm to my world I will drop you in the Bog of Eternal Stench before sticking you all in the tiniest oubliette we have. That includes killing any more of my goblins. They are so hard to replace.”

“Thank you,” replied Sweet Pea, “we will do our best.”

***

Many...hours? Days? Years? later Sweet Pea, Rocket and Amber came to another dead end. Rocket screamed in frustration, “We are never going to get out of here!”

Amber whispered, almost to herself, “Don’t forget Blondie. We have to find Blondie.”

“Oh my god,” cried Rocket, throwing her hand over her mouth, “I forgot about Blondie. How could I have forgotten about Blondie?”

“This place is doing strange things to us,” responded Sweet Pea. She turned suddenly to peer behind her. She could swear she was hearing things moving, but when she turned her head there was nothing there.

Sensing Sweet Pea’s hesitation, Rocket and Amber froze and listened. But again, there was nothing.

Sweet Pea’s shoulders relaxed and she turned back to the girls, “Let’s go. We’ve got to keep moving.”

Amber suddenly cried out in frustration, “Maybe this is hopeless. Blondie’s gone, and it’s all my fault. If I could just get my dancing down, none of this would have happened.”

“No,” called Rocket firmly. “None of this would have happened if Blue wasn’t a sadistic asshole.”

Amber slumped against the wall behind her, except that the wall behind her wasn’t really a wall. She fell through it and disappeared from sight.

“Amber!” the sisters cried, lunging forward. They reached the wall that was not and peered closely at it. They only saw what looked to be a wall, but they could hear Amber behind it talking to someone.

Seconds later Amber emerged dragging a small goblin man beside her.

“Let me go,” screamed the man, kicking at Amber, “I ain’t done nothing wrong. Was minding my own business, Hoggle was.”

Sweet Pea strode quickly over, “You’ve been following us, you little shit. You are the one I’ve been hearing behind the wall.”

“I only did what Jareth said. I had no choice.” He cowered.

Rocket crouched down. “OK...Hoggle, is it? Who’s Jareth and why did he tell you to follow us?”

“Jareth is our king,” Hoggle stuttered. “He said to make sure you didn’t hurt the labyrinth.”

“Oh, you mean fancypants,” muttered Sweet Pea.

“Hoggle,” continued Rocket, “we don’t want to hurt anything. We just want to find our friend and go home. Do you have any idea where she might be?”

“Jareth didn’t take her!” Hoggle cried. “She isn’t in the castle or the goblin city.”

“We know that Hoggle,” Rocket replied. “Do you know anywhere else she might be?”

“I ain’t supposed to do nothing but watch you and protect the labyrinth,” Hoggle said stubbornly. “Jareth said so.”

“Hoggle,” said Amber softly kneeling down to eye level with the goblin, “Someone has taken the love of my life. She is being held somewhere in this labyrinth, and I need to find her. Is there anywhere you can think of where someone might have locked her up?”

Hoggle’s face softened at the mention of love. He quickly squared his shoulders and scowled to cover the emotion. “Yes...there is a place I can think of.”

***

Sweet Pea, Rocket and Amber followed single file behind Hoggle. He rounded a corner and stopped suddenly and the girls pulled up short. “Beware,” Hoggle whispered, “the oubliettes. Watch where you step.” He began to carefully walk forward into a large clearing surrounded by the labyrinth walls. As far as the eye could see, small doors set into the dark earth dotted the ground.

“What is an oubliette?” queried Rocket from the rear of the group.

“An oubliette,” called Hoggle over his shoulder, “is a place where you put people to forget about them. There’s no way out but the hole in the top. They’re dungeons, and no one even knows how many the labyrinth holds. Once you’re in there, people will forget you ever existed, until you don’t exist anymore — if you catch my meaning.”

“Oh,” whispered Amber forlornly, “that is where Blondie must be.”

“Now,” said Sweet Pea, “we only need to find the right one.”

Suddenly, behind them, a deafening metallic clang rose up. Hoggle practically jumped out of his skin and screamed, “The cleaners!”

“The what?” the girls called in unison, looking behind them.

“RUN!” Hoggle shrieked, already running ahead of them. “If it catches you, it will eat you!”

“Hoggle, wait!” yelled Amber. “Help!”

“Hoggle helps Hoggle,” he cried. “Just RUN!”

Behind Rocket, a machine emerged through what appeared to be a solid wall. It was a large metallic monstrosity jerking forward on metal treads. The front of it was shaped like a giant mouth full of moving gears and teeth. It had claws on the front and side and it chewed up everything in its path. A small goblin was perched atop it, laughing gleefully at their panic. He came straight towards them.

Sweet Pea, standing between Amber and Rocket, grabbed at Rocket and pushed Amber, and the three of them ran, knowing their weapons would be no good. Sweet Pea looked around frantically for Hoggle, but he was long gone.

They sprinted across the path, parts of it falling away to reveal oubliettes beneath their feet. It forced the girls to keep desperately leaping for a safe place to land. The faulty ground seemed to have no effect on the monstrous machine behind them.

“Don’t step on the dark spots!” yelled Sweet Pea as Rocket did just that, falling straight down into a black abyss. Sweet Pea lunged for her sister, catching her before she could disappear from sight. Gravity pulled Sweet Pea to the ground and nearly over the edge into the oubliette. She scrambled frantically to keep hold of Rocket.

Sweet Pea screamed and pulled at her sister. She looked up to see the machine bearing down on them, its huge, rotating blades gleaming menacingly in the sun.

“Help!” she screamed, no breath left for more words.

***

Amber froze, jerking around to see her friends in mortal peril. She lunged forward, seeking a path to Sweet Pea and Rocket, but everywhere she looked she saw no way through the oubliettes. Seeking a plan B, she desperately looked around her, searching for some way to stop the machine bearing down on them. Her eyes saw nothing but the chasms in the ground.

Suddenly, a sense of clarity came over her.  She reached for the holster on her hip and pulled her pistol. Amber took a deep breath and rolled her lollipop with her tongue. As the sweet cherry flavor flowed over her taste buds, a smile tweaked her lips. She breathed in deeply, exhaled and squeezed the trigger. The shot rang out in the clearing and the driver of the machine slumped over. The machine slowed to a stop, inches from where Sweet Pea struggled to hold onto her sister. The machine shuddered and its front blades swiped a few locks of Sweet Pea’s hair before it finally stopped.

Sweet Pea glared over her shoulder at Amber as she pulled Rocket out of the hole. “Nothing like last minute, Amber,” she said as she fingered her massacred hair.  

Amber opened her mouth to say something snippy, but stopped, heart leaping into her throat, when she heard the voice she’d know anywhere softly calling, “Lollipop?”

Amber turned and screamed, “Blondie!”

It took the girls a few minutes to find the right oubliette where Blondie was being held and a few more to get the door open. The moment Blondie stood on solid ground, Amber pulled Blondie into her arms and squeezed her as if her life depended on it. She leaned into her and kissed her deeply, lifting her hand to caress her face.

After a minute, Blondie pulled back, smiling. “Mmm, cherry.”

Amber stared into Blondie’s eyes, tears pooling. “I’m so sorry. This is all my fault.”

“Stop,” Blondie cut her off. “None of this is your fault. Thank you for rescuing me. My knight in shining armor.”

Amber smiled shyly at Blondie, but then sobered up once more. “If I don’t learn to dance, Blue will take you again. I can’t lose you.”

Blondie pulled Amber to her, pressing her whole body to her love’s. She ran her hands down her arms, and pulled Amber’s hips in to press against her sex, “I’m sure we can find something to help you dance, Lollipop,” she said with a slow, sensuous smile.

Amber grabbed at Blondie’s ass and giggled, “I was hoping you would say that.”

Sweet Pea and Rocket looked at each other. Sweet Pea rolled her eyes and Rocket made a gagging sound. “Let’s go, lovebirds,” Sweet Pea called.

***

The four girls snuck through the cellar door into the main hallway. Sweet Pea closed it behind them as quietly as possible. The girls crept down the hallway and turned the corner. Amber, leading the way, stopped short, with a gasp of fright. Blue stood directly in front of them, Madame Gorski cowering behind him.

“Oh my,” sneered Blue, a smile spreading on his face, “What do we have here, ladies? Everyone is just begging for some attention from Blue.” He stepped up and grabbed Amber’s face. “Are you in need of a spanking, little girl?” he said, his voice oozing with anticipation.

Blondie stiffened next to Amber and reached out towards Blue’s hand on Amber. Madame Gorski stepped forward, placing her hand on Blue’s arm tentatively, “Blue, I believe the orderlies are looking for you.”

Blue looked up to see two orderlies coming down the hallway flanking a tiny, blonde girl. They were followed by a tall man nervously pulling the rim of his hat through his hands.

“Blue, sir,” said one of the orderlies, “this is Babydoll and her step-father.”

Babydoll looked at the floor, showing no reaction at all. Blue stepped around Amber and Blondie, shoving into them in his haste. “Welcome!” he called. “Please show these fine folks into the theater.”

The orderlies led the way down the hallway past the group of girls. Madame Gorski pulled at Amber and Blondie, and whispered, “Girls, go, now." She pushed them in front of her, gesturing at Sweet Pea and Rocket as well.

Blue stood in the hallway, the others forgotten. He stared after Babydoll, his eyes only for her. His lips lifted in a leer, and he whispered with a gleam in his eye, “Fresh meat.”

***


End file.
